Bill Text: CA AB700 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-08-31 - Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 26. Noes 11. Page 5601.). [AB700 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB700-Amended.html
Bill Title: Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-08-31 - Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 26. Noes 11. Page 5601.). [AB700 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB700-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 700 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 14, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 12, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 7, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 21, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Gomez and Levine FEBRUARY 25, 2015 An act to amend Sections 84305, 84310, 84501, 84505,and 8451184506.5, 84511, and 85704 of, to add Sections 84504.1, 84504.2, and 84504.3 to, to repeal Sections 84506, 84507, and 84508 of, and to repeal and add Sections 84502, 84503, 84504, and 84509 of, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 700, as amended, Gomez. Political Reform Act of 1974:advertisement disclosures.campaign disclosures. (1) Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing and activities. The act requires a committee that supports or opposes ballot measures to name and identify itself using a name or phrase the clearly identifies the economic or other special interests of its major donors of $50,000 or more. The act also requires that if the major donors share a common employer, the identity of the employer be disclosed. This bill would repeal these provisions. (2) The act prohibits a candidate, committee, or slate mailer organization from expending campaign funds to pay for specified telephone calls that advocate support of, or opposition to, a candidate, ballot measure, or both, unless the name of the organization that authorized or paid for the call is disclosed to the recipient of the call during the course of each call. This bill would instead make these requirements applicable to a candidate, a candidate controlled committee, a political party committee, and a slate mailer organization that expends campaign funds to pay for such telephone calls.(2)(3) The act also requires advertisements, as defined, to include prescribed disclosure statements, including, among others, a requirement that the disclosure statement include the names of the persons who made the 2 highest cumulative contributions, as defined, to the committee paying for the advertisement. This bill would repeal and recast provisions of the act relating to advertisement disclosure statements. Among those changes, this bill would revise the definition of "advertisement" to exclude a number of communications, including communications paid for by a political party committee or person who is not a committee, and communications that involve wearing apparel, sky writing, and certain electronic media communications, as specified. The bill would also replace existing advertisement disclosure statements with newly prescribed disclosure statements that identify the name of the committee paying for the advertisement and the top contributors of the committee paying for the advertisement. The bill would define "top contributors" for purposes of these provisions as the persons from whom the committee paying for the advertisement received its 3 highest cumulative contributions, as specified. The bill would exempt certain committees, including committees that make independent expenditures totaling $1,000 or more in a calendar year, from the requirement to disclose the top contributors in advertisement disclosure statements. The bill would also prescribe location and format criteria for the disclosure statements that is specific to radio and telephone, television and video, print, and electronic media advertisements. (4) The act prohibits a person from making a contribution as an intermediary on behalf of another person without disclosing to the recipient of the contribution specified information about both the intermediary and the source of the contribution. The act also prohibits a person from making a contribution to a committee on the condition or with the agreement that it will be contributed to a particular candidate unless the contribution is disclosed in compliance with those requirements for contributions made by an intermediary. This bill would revise the latter provision to prohibit a person from making a contribution to a committee or candidate that is earmarked for a contribution to another committee or candidate, unless the contribution is disclosed in compliance with the requirements for contributions made by an intermediary. The bill would also describe circumstances in which a contribution is deemed to be earmarked.(3)(5) Because a violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.(4)(6) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 84305 of the Government Code is amended to read: 84305. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b),no candidate ora candidate, candidate controlled committee, or political party committee shall not send a mass mailing unless the name, street address, and city of the candidate or committee are shown on the outside of each piece of mail in the mass mailing and on at least one of the inserts included within each piece of mail of the mailing in no less than 6-point type which shall be in a color or print which contrasts with the background so as to be easily legible. A post office box may be stated in lieu of a street address if theorganization'scandidate 's, controlled committee's, or political party committee's address is a matter of public record with the Secretary of State. (b) If the sender of the mass mailing is a single candidate or committee, the name, street address, and city of the candidate or committee need only be shown on the outside of each piece of mail. (c) If the sender of a mass mailing is a controlled committee, the name of the person controlling the committee shall be included in addition to the information required by subdivision (a). (d) For purposes of this section, the sender is the candidate or committee who pays for the largest portion of expenditures attributable to the designing, printing, and posting of the mailing which are reportable under Sections 84200 to 84217, inclusive. (e) For purposes of this section, to pay for a share of the cost of a mass mailing means to make, to promise to make, or to incur an obligation to make, any payment for either of the following: (1) To any person for the design, printing, postage, materials or other costs, including salaries, fees, or commissions, of the mailing. (2) As a fee or other consideration for an endorsement or, in the case of a ballot measure, support or opposition in the mailing. SEC. 2. Section 84310 of the Government Code is amended to read: 84310. (a) A candidate, candidate controlled committee, political party committee, or slate mailer organizationmayshall not expend campaign funds, directly or indirectly, to pay for telephone calls that are similar in nature and aggregate 500 or more in number, made by an individual, or individuals, or by electronic means and that advocate support of, or opposition to, a candidate, ballot measure, or both, unless during the course of each call the name of the candidate, candidate controlled committee, political party committee, or slate mailer organization that authorized or paid for the call is disclosed to the recipient of the call. Unless the organization that authorized the call and in whose name it is placed has filing obligations under this title, and the name announced in the call either is the full name by which the organization or individual is identified in any statement or report required to be filed under this title or is the name by which the organization or individual is commonly known, the candidate, committee, or slate mailer organization that paid for the call shall be disclosed. This section shall not apply to telephone calls made by the candidate, the campaign manager, or individuals who are volunteers. (b) Campaign and ballot measure committees are prohibited from contracting with any phone bank vendor that does not disclose the information required to be disclosed by subdivision (a). (c) A candidate, committee, or slate mailer organization that pays for telephone calls as described in subdivision (a) shall maintain a record of the script of the call for the period of time set forth in Section 84104. If any of the calls qualifying under subdivision (a) were recorded messages, a copy of the recording shall be maintained for that period.SECTION 1.SEC. 3. Section 84501 of the Government Code is amended to read: 84501. For purposes of this article the following terms have the following meanings: (a) (1) "Advertisement" means any general or public communication which is authorized and paid for by a committee for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate or candidates for elective office or a ballot measure or ballot measures. (2) "Advertisement" does not include any of the following: (A) A communication paid for by a political party committee or a candidate controlled committee established for an elective office for the controlling candidate. (B) A communication from an organization, other than a political party, to its members. (C) A campaign button smaller than 10 inches in diameter; a bumper sticker smaller than 60 square inches; or a small tangible promotional item, such as a pen, pin, or key chain, upon which the disclosures required by this article cannot be conveniently printed or displayed. (D) Wearing apparel. (E) Sky writing. (F) An electronic media communicationwhereif inclusion of the disclosures required bySectionsSection 84502, 84503, or 84506.5, is impracticable or would severely interfere with the committee's ability to convey the intended message because of the nature of the technology used to make the communication. (G) Any otheradvertisementcommunication as determined by regulations of the Commission. (b) "Cumulative contributions" means the cumulative amount of contributions received by a committee beginning 12 months prior to the date of the expenditure and ending seven days before the time the advertisement is sent to the printer or broadcaster. (c) (1) "Top contributors" means the persons from whom the committee paying for an advertisement has received its three highest cumulative contributions of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more. (2) If two or more contributors of identical amounts qualify as top contributors, the most recent contributor of that amount shall be listed as the top contributor in any disclosure required by Section 84503. (3) If a contributor appears to qualify as a top contributor but received earmarked funds to make the contribution, the person or committee that earmarked the funds and gave those funds to the contributor shall instead be disclosed as the top contributor if they qualified as such. The person or committee transferring earmarked funds shall disclose the true source of the funds to the committee receiving the earmarked funds at the time the funds are transferred. Funds are "earmarked" in the following circumstances: (A) The contributor solicited and received the funds from donors for the purpose of making a contribution to the committee paying for the advertisement. (B) The funds were given to the contributor subject to a condition, agreement, or understanding with the donor that all or a portion would be used to make a contribution to the committee paying for the advertisement, including any circumstance where the donor identifies the committee as a potential recipient of the contribution and the committee in fact receives all or a portion of the donor's contribution. (C) The contributor had existing funds from a donor and a subsequent agreement or understanding was reached with the donor that all or a portion of the funds would be used to contribute to the committee paying for the advertisement, including any circumstance where the donor identifies the committee as a potential recipient of the contribution and the committee in fact receives all or a portion of the donor's contribution.SEC. 2.SEC. 4. Section 84502 of the Government Code is repealed.SEC. 3.SEC. 5. Section 84502 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84502. (a) Any advertisement paid for by a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall include the words "Paid for by" followedbyby, in all capital letters, the name of the committee as it appears on the most recent Statement of Organization filed pursuant to Section 84101. (b) Any advertisement paid for by a committeeas defined bypursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 82013 shall include the words "Paid for by" followedbyby, in all capital letters, the name that the filer is required to use on campaign statements pursuant to subdivision (o) of Section 84211.SEC. 4.SEC. 6. Section 84503 of the Government Code is repealed.SEC. 5.SE C. 7. Section 84503 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84503. (a) Any advertisement paid for by a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 shall include the words "This committee has major funding from" followed by the names of the top contributors to the committee paying for the advertisement. If fewer than three contributors qualify as top contributors, only those contributors that qualify shall be disclosed pursuant to this section. If there are no contributors that qualify as top contributors, this disclosure is not required. If the content of the radio advertisement or telephonic message names each of the top contributors as major funding sources of the committee, this disclosure is not required. (b) The disclosure of a top contributor pursuant to this section need not include legal terms such as "incorporated," "committee," "political action committee," or "corporation," or abbreviations of these terms, unless the term is part of the contributor's name in common usage or parlance. (c) If this article requires the disclosure of the name of a top contributor that is a committee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 82013 and is a sponsored committee pursuant to Section 82048.7 with a single sponsor, only the name of the single sponsoring organization shall be disclosed. (d) This section does not apply to a committee as defined by subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 82013 or a political party committee.SEC. 6.SEC. 8. Section 84504 of the Government Code is repealed.SEC. 7.SEC. 9. Section 84504 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84504. (a) An advertisement that is disseminated over the radio or by telephonic means shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 at the beginning or end of the advertisement, read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement, and shall last no less than three seconds. (b) Notwithstanding the definition of "top contributors" in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 84501, radio and prerecorded telephonic advertisements shall be required to disclose only the single top contributor of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more.SEC. 8.SEC. 10. Section 84504.1 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84504.1. (a) An advertisement that is disseminated as a video, including advertisements on television and videos disseminated over the Internet, shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502 and 84503 at the beginning or end of the advertisement. (b) The disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall be written and displayed for at least five seconds of a broadcast of thirty seconds or less or for at least ten seconds of a broadcast that lasts longer than thirty seconds. (1) The written disclosure required by subdivision (a) shall appear on a solid black background on the entire bottom one-third of the television or video display screen and shall be in a contrasting color in Arial equivalent type, and the type size for the tallest letters in the written disclosure shall be exactly 4 percent of the height of the television or video display screen. The top contributors, if any, shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each of the top contributors shall be centered horizontally. If the names of the top three contributors exceed or cause the disclosure to exceed one-third of the television or video display screen, the percent of the height of the type size shall be reduced to the minimum amount necessary to provide for full disclosure of the top contributors. The written disclosures required by Sections 84502 and 84503 shall be underlined, except for the names of the top contributors, if any. (2)CommitteesA committee subject to Section 84223 shall include the text "Funding Details At insert Commission Internet Web site with information required to be posted by subdivision (c) of Section 84223]." The text shall be in contrasting color in Arial equivalent type and the type size shall be equivalent to at least 2.5 percent of the height of the television or video display screen. (3) If using a type size of 4 percent of the height of the television or video display screen causes the name of any of the top contributors to exceed the width of the screen, the type sizes of the name of the contributor that exceeds the width of the screen shall be reduced until it fits on the width of the screen, but in no case shall the type size be smaller than 2.5 percent of the height of the screen.SEC. 9.SEC. 11. Section 84504.2 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84504.2. (a) A print advertisement shall include the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5, displayed as follows: (1) The disclosure area shall have a solid white background and shall be in a printed or drawn box on the bottom of at least one page that is set apart from any other printed matter. All text in the disclosure area shall be in contrasting color. (2) The text shall be in an Arial equivalent type with a type size of at least 10-point for printed advertisements designed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, mailers, flyers, and door hangers. (3) The top contributors, if any, shall each be disclosed on a separate horizontal line, in descending order, beginning with the top contributor who made the largest cumulative contributions on the first line. The name of each of the top contributors shall be centered horizontally in the disclosure area. (4) Immediately below the text described in paragraph (3), committees subject to Section 84223 shall include the text "Funding Details At insert Commission Internet Web site with information required to be posted by subdivision (c) of Section 84223]." The text shall be in an Arial equivalent type with a type size of at least 10-point for printed advertisements designed to be individually distributed,includingincluding, but not limitedtoto, mailers,flyersflyers, and door hangers. (b) Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (4) of subdivision (a), the disclosure on a printed advertisement that is larger than those designed to be individually distributed, including, but not limited to, yard signs or billboards, shall be in Arial equivalent type with a type size of at least 10 percent of the height of the advertisement, and printed on a solid background with sufficient contrast that is easily readable by the average person. (c) Notwithstanding the definition of "top contributors" in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 84501, newspaper, magazine, or other public print advertisements that are 20 square inches or less shall be required to disclose only the single top contributor of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more.SEC. 10.SEC. 12. Section 84504.3 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84504.3. (a) An electronic media advertisement shall do all of the following: (1) Contain the disclosures required by Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5 in a type size and font that iseasily readable by the average viewer,clear and conspicuous, visible for a period of at least four seconds and contrasts with the background so as to be easily readable by the average person, unlessimpractical.impractical or would severely interfere with a committee's ability to convey the intended message because of the nature of the technology used to make the communication. The Commission may prescribe by regulation minimal disclaimer requirements if inclusion of the full disclaimer is deemed impractical. (2) Hyperlink to an Internet Web site containing the text required by paragraph (1). (b) An Internet Web site that is hyperlinked to as provided for in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall remain online and available to the public until 30 days after the date of the electionwherein which the candidate or ballot measure supported or opposed by the advertisement was voted upon. (c) An advertisement made via a form of electronic media that is audio only and therefore cannot include either of the disclaimers in subdivision (a) shall comply with the disclaimer requirements for radio advertisements in Section 84504. (d) An advertisement made via a form of electronic media that allows users to engage in discourse and post content, or any other type of social media, shall only be required to include the disclaimer required by subdivision (a) on the committee's home page, landing page, or similar location and shall not be required to include the disclaimer required by subdivision (a) on each individual post, comment, or other similar communication. (e) The disclaimer required by this section does not apply to advertisements made via social media where the only expense or cost of the communication is compensated staff time unless the social media account where the content is posted was created only for the purpose of advertisements governed by this title.SEC. 11.SEC. 13. Section 84505 of the Government Code is amended to read: 84505. (a) In addition to the requirements of Sections 84502, 84503, and 84506.5, the committee placing the advertisement or persons acting in concert with that committee shall be prohibited from creating or using a noncandidate-controlled committee or a nonsponsored committee to avoid, or that results in the avoidance of, the disclosure of any individual, industry, business entity, controlled committee, or sponsored committee as a top contributor. (b) Written disclosures required by Sections84502, 84503,84503 and 84506.5 shall not appear in all capital letters provided, however, capital letters shall be permitted for the beginning of a sentence, the beginning of a proper name or location, or as otherwise required by conventions of the English language.SEC. 12.SEC. 14. Section 84506 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 15. Section 84506.5 of the Government Code is amended to read: 84506.5. (a) An advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate that is paid for by an independent expenditure must include the following statement in 14-point font : This advertisement was not authorized or paid for by a candidate for this office or a committee controlled by a candidate for this office. (b)In addition to the requirements of Section 84507, aA mailed advertisement subject to this section shall also comply with each of the following: (1) The disclosure statement in subdivision (a) shall be located within one quarter of an inch of the recipient's name and address as printed on the advertisement. (2) The text of the disclosure statement shall be contained in a box with an outline that has a line weight of at least 3.25 pt. The background color of the box shall be in a contrasting color to the background of the advertisement. The outline of the box shall be in a contrasting color to both the background color of the advertisement and the background color of the box. The color of the text shall be in a contrasting color to the background color of the box.SEC. 13.SEC. 16. Section 84507 of the Government Code is repealed.SEC. 14.SEC. 17. Section 84508 of the Government Code is repealed.SEC. 15.SEC. 18. Section 84509 of the Government Code is repealed.SEC. 16.SEC. 19. Section 84509 is added to the Government Code, to read: 84509. If the order of top contributors required to be disclosed pursuant to this article changes or a new contributor qualifies as a top contributor, the disclosure in the advertisement shall be updated as follows: (a) A television, radio, telephone, electronic billboard, or other electronic media advertisement shall be updated to reflect the new top contributors within seven business days, or five business days if the change in top contributors occurs within 30 days of an election. (b) A print media advertisement, including nonelectronic billboards, shall be updated to reflect the new top contributors prior to placing a new or modified order for additional printing of the advertisement.SEC. 17.SEC. 20. Section 84511 of the Government Code is amended to read: 84511. (a) This section applies to a committee that does either of the following: (1) Makes an expenditure of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more to an individual for his or her appearance in an advertisement that supports or opposes the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot measure. (2) Makes an expenditure of any amount to an individual for his or her appearance in an advertisement that supports or opposes the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot measure and that states or suggests that the individual is a member of an occupation that requires licensure, certification, or other specialized, documented training as a prerequisite to engage in that occupation. (b) A committee described in subdivision (a) shall file, within 10 days of the expenditure, a report that includes all of the following: (1) An identification of the measure that is the subject of the advertisement. (2) The date of the expenditure. (3) The amount of the expenditure. (4) The name of the recipient of the expenditure. (5) For a committee described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the occupation of the recipient of the expenditure. (c) An advertisement paid for by a committee described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall include a disclosure statement stating "(spokesperson's name) is being paid by this campaign or its donors" in highly visible font shown continuously if the advertisement consists of printed or televised material, or spoken in a clearly audible format if the advertisement is a radio broadcast or telephonic message. If the advertisement is a television or video advertisement, the statement shall be shown continuously, except when the disclosure statement required by Section 84504.1 is being shown. (d) (1) An advertisement paid for by a committee described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall include a disclosure statement stating "Persons portraying members of an occupation in this advertisement are compensated spokespersons not necessarily employed in those occupations" in highly visible font shown continuously if the advertisement consists of printed or televised material, or spoken in a clearly audible format if the advertisement is a radio broadcast or telephonic message. (2) A committee may omit the disclosure statement required by this subdivision if all of the following are satisfied with respect to each individual identified in the report filed pursuant to subdivision (b) for that advertisement: (A) The occupation identified in the report is substantially similar to the occupation portrayed in the advertisement. (B) The committee maintains credible documentation of the appropriate license, certification, or other training as evidence that the individual may engage in the occupation identified in the report and portrayed in the advertisement and makes that documentation immediately available to the Commission upon request. SEC. 21. Section 85704 of the Government Code is amended to read: 85704. (a) A personmayshall not make any contribution toa committee on the condition or with the agreement that it will be contributed to any particularany committee or candidate that is earmarked for a contribution to any other committee or candidate unless the contribution is fully disclosed pursuant to Section 84302. (b) For purposes of this section a contribution is earmarked if the contribution is made under any of the following circumstances: (1) The committee or candidate receiving the contribution solicited the contribution for the purpose of making a contribution to another committee or candidate and requested the contributor to consent to such use. (2) The contribution was made subject to a condition, agreement, or understanding with the contributor that all or a portion of the contribution would be used to make a contribution to another committee or candidate, including any circumstance in which the contributor identifies the committee or candidate as a potential recipient of the contribution and the committee or candidate in fact receives all or a portion of the contributor's contribution. (3) After the contribution was made, the contributor and the committee or candidate receiving the contribution reaching a subsequent agreement or understanding that all or a portion of the contribution would be used to make a contribution to another committee or candidate, including any circumstance in which the contributor identifies the committee or candidate as a potential recipient of the contribution and the committee or candidate in fact receives all or a portion of the contributor's contribution.SEC. 18.SEC. 22. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.SEC. 19.SEC. 23. The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.